Atonement Redo
by InfectiousChaos
Summary: John Rathers is a student from mainland Britannia, or so he would have people believe. However, his true reason for coming to Area 11 is quite different... This is a Redo of Atonement, my previous Fanfic. Rated M for blood and coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everybody, I'm back again, after a long hiatus. Unfortunately, I've looked over the old version of Atonement, and decided that I wanted to redo what I had already done before moving on with the plot from there. I am sincerely sorry to my previous readers, but I hope that my writing skill has improved slightly. I welcome all feedback, although constructive criticism is preferred as I wish to continue improving my writing. Sorry again, but it's good to be back!

I do not own Code Geass, its characters or its storyline.

***

The campus was large for one in an Area, but certainly not as much so as back in Brittania, with its expansive vistas and green fields. The outer grounds of Ashford academy were still very well groomed, likely by poorly paid Elevens. He didn't care a great deal; he was simply attending the school for now. He didn't have to get used to it.

The halls were a spotless white as well, with large arches emulating Britannian architecture flawlessly. Scanning the plaques next to the doors, he quickly found the classroom he was looking for, room 115. He glanced at his watch, noticing that he was already incredibly late, so instead of knocking he just opened the door and stepped into the room. He muttered a quick "Sorry" and tried his best to look flustered. "This is our new student," The teacher, a refined looking Britannian man in his late forties ushered him in front of the class. The teacher looked down at his papers quickly, running his finger down across a list of names. "John Rathers. From mainland Britannia I assume?" John nodded, examining the class.

There were roughly two dozen students, an assortment of men and women. He could only spot one that didn't look entirely like a Britannian; a meek, bored looking red-haired girl in the third row. "Why don't you sit in the back there, beside Lelouch?" John stiffened, his eyes darting towards the back of the classroom where a black-haired student leaned against the window, not paying attention to the class. John calmly walked to the back of the class, examining the person he had been sent to sit beside. "Lelouch, was it?" He asked politely, extending his hand as he took his seat. Lelouch lazily turned to face him, his distinctive purple eyes shining in the afternoon light. "That's right. You're John, correct?" Lelouch gave his hand a light shake. John noticed that his grip was quite delicate, similar to that of a person that had never really worked. Lelouch looked him in the eye, a slightly confused look on his face. "Have we met before?" John broke eye contact, pulling his bag up onto the desk. "No, I don't think so."

The student sitting across from him leaned onto his desk casually, his hair a dark shock of blue. "There's no point getting your books out now, bud. The class is over already!" John hadn't noticed that when he came into the class, the students had already been packing their books. He must have lingered in the hallway longer than he had thought. "That's a good point. I'm John by the way, and you?" "He's Rivalz, a friend of mine." Lelouch responded for him; Rivalz was off talking to an orange-haired girl walking towards them. "Hey Lelouch! And you're John, right?" The newcomer asked, taking a vacant chair in front of them. "Yes, and you?" John asked. "I'm Shirley, great to meet you!" John nodded, then noticed they had formed a little sort of circle. "I'm sorry, am I intruding on you guys?" Lelouch started to say something but was interrupted by Rivalz. "Not really, we're just all on our way to Student Council. Speaking of which, have you joined any councils yet?"

They all stood up and gathered their bags, talking as they weaved through the desks. "No, I just arrived today. Any suggestions?" Shirley, who had been talking with Lelouch rather intently turned to talk to him. "Well, we're always looking for people in the student council. What do you think, Lelouch?" Lelouch shrugged. "You'd have to ask Milly, she's the boss, not me."

They came into the hall, the lunch traffic having subsided a little, as they had lingered in the classroom for a bit. "Milly? What's her last name?" John asked.

"Milly Ashford. She's the daughter of the man that owns the place." Rivalz answered. John nodded slowly, noting the name. He would have to speak with her later.

"So anyway, let's have lunch, huh? I'm starving!"

***

Lelouch sat watching the replay of the debut of his new organization, the Black Knights on the large television set in the wall of the trailer. His new compatriots, Kallen, Tamaki and Ougi, sat beside him, admiring it as well. Ougi ran his hand through his messy brown hair, easing back into the couch. "It was an amazing debut to be sure, but are you sure it wasn't too soon? I mean, we aren't even sure if we can handle the new flow of recruits.." Lelouch stood, his cape flaring majestically behind him. "Do not worry. Justice will prevail. This is merely the beginning of a more grand plan to be set in motion." Tamaki laughed drunkenly as he took another swig from the celebratory beer he was holding. "Don't worry so much, Ougi! Our great leader Zero will lead the way to victory!" Lelouch grinned under his mask; to have gained support so quickly was excellent. The plan had exceeded in all expectations. "Regardless, now that we are open to the public, we need to start working towards improving our reputation…"

***

Kallen walked slowly, replaying Zero's words in her head. Could what he said be true? All this talk about justice, was it real? She shook her head, breathing the cool night air in. It wouldn't do to worry so much about it right now. She had to get home and get to sleep; she had been losing sleep recently due to her work with the Black Knights. She yawned, and the strap of the case carrying her uniform fell to the ground, spilling it's contents across the cement of the sidewalk. She hastily kneeled and stuffed the distinctive clothing back into the bag, making sure that no one was around, and hurried on home.

***

The night had been relatively uneventful, though the information he had gathered just now had been well worth the wait. He packed up his observation equipment into his pack and moved off, another silhouette in the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again everyone. InfectiousChaos here, with the second chapter of the Atonement Redo. For those who didn't read the first one (and please don't, 'cause they have very similar plots and it may ruin this one until I finish past where I was), this fanfiction starts right after episode 8, with the official announcement of the Black Knights, right after the Sakuradite conference tower is blown to smithereens. Anyways, enjoy, please R&R, constructive criticism is always appreciated!

I do not own Code Geass, its characters or its storyline.

***

"Kallen, right?" Kallen, tired as she was, hadn't even noticed the new student come in. She supposed that he had been introduced while she had been dozing off in class, so she didn't recognize him. He was about 6"1, cropped brown hair and deep blue eyes that made him look like he was always dreaming. He wore the typical male Ashford uniform, and was distinctly Britannian, with their usual straight-edged, almost arrogant facial structure.

"Yes. And you?" She asked, easily slipping into her meek façade that she had taken. Adopting it was inconvenient for most school things, but it explained her absences well enough.

"You don't remember me, eh?" He sat down in the chair beside her and put down his bags.

"I'm John Rathers. I was introduced in your class?" She gave him a fake smile.

"I must have not been paying attention." She immediately returned to working on the budget that Milly had left her with. She may be useless for physical things according to her façade, but Milly decided that she would be perfect to do paper-work. She hated paper-work.

"You seem rather quick to dismiss me. Have I done something to offend you?" She continued to fill out the paper, not giving him much attention.

"No, I'm just busy." John looked around the room, devoid of any other students besides them. "Speaking of being busy, why are you here doing paper-work while no-one else is?" Kallen put down the pen and started to massage her hand.

"Milly is at a marriage interview, Suzaku is at work, Nina is working on some project, Shirley is at swim club, and Lelouch and Rivalz have both left to do something." John tapped a small beat on his bag. "Why do you aid the Black Knights?"

Kallen froze. Her knife-pouch was in her bag underneath the chair; could she reach it in time? "The Black Knights? What are you talking about?" She forced a nervous laugh, trying to buy a little bit of time. How did he know? Had he told anyone?

"Don't bother lying. It's pointless." He said calmly.

"What's your proof?" She demanded. He drew photos out of his bag, and the image was clear; her uniform, sprawled across the pavement under the gaze of a streetlight, and her trying to stuff it back in. She turned to face him, sloughing off her meek appearance.

"What are you, a stalker?" He laughed at her, and she slowly reached behind her to unzip her bag, going for her knife.

"Nothing so simple." He said, putting the pictures back. "In fact, you could almost look at this as helping you."

Kallen decided to humour him and asked. "How so?"

"I want to join the Black Knights." John drew a different paper from his bag and slipped it to her. She quickly glanced over it; it was a formal resume.

"Wait," She said, trying to catch up to this. "You want to join the Black Knights?"

John nodded, and pointed at the resume. "I'm aware that it's strange for a Britannian to want to join a terrorist group advocating the liberation of Japan. That's why strange measures are required. I need you to take this to Zero."

"We don't want Britannians in our organization." She spat, crumpling up his resume and throwing it in his face. He sighed, picking the paper back up from the floor where it had fallen, and started to smooth it out.

"I was afraid you'd say that. But you will cooperate." He pushed the resume back towards her.

She picked up the paper and glanced over it quickly. On it was a physical profile and a list of skills. "And if I don't?" She asked.

He tapped the bag meaningfully. "These will be distributed to the proper authorities. Although let it be known that I harbour no ill will against you. This is just the only way."

She aimed a punch at his face, catching him off guard and throwing him sprawling to the floor. She quickly grabbed the pocket knife out of her bag and turned to face him, but found that all that remained was the overturned chair. Strong hands quickly grabbed both hands in an iron grip, forcing the weapon from her hand and locking her arms behind her back.

"That was a good move. Not quick enough though." He drawled, throwing her dagger across the room. "Now please oblige my request. I promise no harm to you." She weighed her options; she could try and kill him again; no, unlikely. Without her knife, she wouldn't stand a chance. The speed it had taken to recover from that punch so quickly…

She ceased struggling. "Yeah, alright. I'll do it." He released her arms and she quickly turned back to him. The only damage that her attack had inflicted was a split lip; he must have anticipated it and rolled with the punch. He gave her a genuine smile, picked up his bag and straightened out his uniform.

"I appreciate it. I'll expect you to contact him within the next couple days."

"How did you know to follow me?" Kallen asked, resigned to this task.

"It was simple," John said, standing up. "When I first arrived, I noticed you in the front row, someone who had a relatively similar build to a woman that I had seen standing behind Zero when he announced the creation of the Black Knights. Normally, I would have dismissed this, but your little outburst in class the other day prompted me to look into it. It was bad luck that designated you to bring this to Zero I apologize."

The automatic door opened as he walked through it, but he paused for a second and spoke back to her. "Although it was unspoken, I expect that you will not try anything violent. As a warning to you, in the case that I die, these will be distributed regardless." He gave her a casual wave as he disappeared through the doorway.

"Have a good day." John said right before the door slipped shut again, leaving her alone to all but her thoughts again.


	3. Chapter 3

Atonement Chapter Three

Hello readers! Sorry for the very strange release schedule, what with the first two chapters coming out within two days and then this one a week and a half later. Blame it on schoolwork. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Oh, also, I forgot to mention in the description that this is slightly AU (Alternate Universe), and so some events will be different, although I'm not completely changing most things for the sake of the storyline. Alright, hope you enjoy, please R&R (or CC as SparrowSpera very nicely put it :P)

I do not own Code Geass, any of its characters, or its storyline. Except for John Rathers, who I made up.

..........................

It had been three days since Kallen last received any sort of communications from Zero, and when she had talked to Ohgi it was the same thing. This wasn't an abnormal amount of time between missions, but the pressure from John made it all the more stressful, especially being stuck in the Academy with him.

She was sitting in the Student Council room, as per usual. No work was being done right now, as they had just finished writing up the budgets for all the different clubs, so everyone was just sitting around, reveling in the sunshine that poured in through the large windows. Most of them were talking animatedly, save her and Lelouch, not that that was saying much. Lelouch wasn't a cheerful sort of guy anyway, and she was waiting on her phone.

She was tired of waiting around, so she quietly slipped outside and up to the staircase. It was lunch hour, and this staircase was very rarely used, as it was at the back of the Academy, making it an ideal place for private conversations. Kallen dialed in the number and raised it to her ear, brushing her hair back over her ear and out of the way.

The phone rang once then went stopped, stating that the number she had called was out of service and started to rattle off a list of options. She snapped the phone close hard, cursing under her breath.

"Still no luck?" A familiar Britannian voice asked from above her. Her eyes darted up to see John quietly walking down the stairs towards her, books in hand.

"No. What do you want?" Kallen snapped, not wanting a prolonged conversation with her blackmailer.

"I was just wondering, no need to be so angry at me." He reached the space she was standing on and gave her a calming smile. She noticed that he was wearing a pair of sunglasses that she hadn't seen before. "May I see your phone for a moment?"

"Do I have a choice?" Kallen asked, holding out her phone anyway. He relieved it from her hand and slid it open, drawing out his at the same time. "What are you doing?"

"Putting my number in your phone, as well installing a chip that allows me to insert myself into your phone's call." He said calmly, taking off the back of her phone and working on it.

"Wait, I don't want you interfering with my phone conversations-" She said, frustrated. Did this guy have no sense of privacy? First he had spied on her, now he was keeping tabs on her phone conversations!

"I'll only interfere when you contact Zero. I'm not going to be constantly tapping your phone." John finished working with her phone and handed it back to her.

"Another thing, why would I want your number?" She angrily shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"In case I'm not alerted to when Zero calls you, so you can tell me without meeting me in person." He snapped his phone closed then continued down the stairs, leaving her behind. Her anger dissipated as he left, leaving her in a sort of lost mood. Well, at least she could just wait for Zero to call her instead of trying to contact him, which seemed to be impossible anyway.

.................................

The gentle chimes echoed through the school, signaling the end of another school day. Although John had never had any particular love for school, his days here had been a nice break. Area 11 was certainly more peaceful than mainland Britannia. He made his way off campus and towards the waterfront, a more sketchy area of this Area. Drug dealers selling "Refrain" were found all over the waterfront, but they weren't any sort of problem. To them, he was just another Britannian student, and their targets were the Japanese.

Row after row of warehouses were constructed adjacent to the water, and were rented or owned privately by different people. They were all uniform in size, each capable of fitting about what he had heard to be half a football field within it. John had been walking through the rows until he finally arrived in front of one marked G-7 in white block letters. He tapped a button near the side of the door, revealing a keypad that he quickly entered a code into. The door slid upon, and he quickly stepped inside.

The warehouse was pitch black, so he snapped on the lights, which, while they were old and rather faulty, had no problem illuminating the large space. The lights fell on bare concrete floor, save the one large figure standing in the middle of the room.

It's clearly humanoid form designated it as a Knightmare, standing twelve metres high, and about 5 metres across. The Frame was a sturdy build, based upon a Gloucester, save the accessories and its normal head and sensors replaced with prototype systems. Both arms ended in three-fingered hands, made for holding the large Anti-Knighmare rifle hitched to the back. The head, a new system, contained only one sensor and was a Gloucester's head with two large swooping front facing horns, each containing a slash harken. The entire Frame was painted a steely blue, but clearly showed its age. Paint was chipped and missing across it, and the armour on the right arm had been gashed.

Kneeling down in front of his Frame, John drew his tools and parts that he had bought out of his bag and stepped into the harness that drew him up to the drivers block. "Well, you made it this fair, Nidhogg. Can't have you quittin' on me now."

................................

"Zero?" Kallen spoke quietly into her phone, sitting in her room behind the closed door.

"Yes, it is me. We have just recently received our shipment of Knightmares from Tokyo, and I would have you and the rest of the Black Knights come and see them. They're being held in the-" There was a quiet beep and his voice cut off.

"Wait, Zero? Hello?" She spoke into the phone frantically. Had that stupid chip that John put in shorted out her phone?

"Calm down, I'm just interjecting into the conversation. I'll only be a minute." Johns voice came over the phone.

"Wait, what the hell? Can he hear me?" Kallen asked.

"No, he can only hear me, and will only hear me until our conversation is over. Now please be quiet while I speak with him." He said, and there was another beep.

"Q-1? Hello? Are you there?" Lelouch spoke into the phone. Had she been found out? Was she alright? Damnit, if she was captured, the rest of the Black Knights might be compromised, not to mention that they would be losing their ace pilot.

"Don't worry, Zero, she's fine. I just need a little of your time." A clearly Britannian voice came over the phone.

"What do you want?" Lelouch asked. Who was this man he was speaking to?

"My name is John Rathers, and I'm rather interested in your cause. Your associate, Kallen, has the details of my skills and such. When you see her next, she will give them to you, and my number. When you have reviewed them, please give me a call."

The call ended there, and he was left in silence, until Kallen's voice came back. "-ro, can you hear me? Hello?"

"Yes, I can hear you. Are you alright? Who was that?" Lelouch demanded.

"I'm fine, that was some Britannian that has details on our organization, including some incriminating pictures of me with our uniform. If they get out.." She let her sentence trail off.

"But who was it? What are his conditions?" He asked exasperatedly.

"His name is John Rathers. He said that he wanted to help us or something."

Lelouch sunk back into his seat. He sat in the top level of the trailer that he had taken from some Britannian noble, in his school uniform, still not changed into his Zero outfit. John Rathers… That was the new student in his class. So he had found Kallen out? And what was this about wanting to help their cause? It was all a big mess. He would have to find out more when he saw Kallen next. "We will meet at our regular location and I'll debrief you then."

With that, Lelouch closed his phone, lost in his thoughts.


End file.
